USA Today: The Epitome of ‘Fake News’

The “fake news” slogan may be overused and stretched sometimes, but good catch by Glenn Reynolds to note that USA Today ran a “news” story that “President Trump May Be Giving a Speech to an Empty Room in Davos.” It was based on nothing more than a few unnamed “sources” saying that there had been a call for a boycott by some no-name figures from Africa, and that “a number of people” would walk out. This truly is fake news. Especially since it turned out to be completely wrong.

Instead of a walkout or a half-empty hall, Trump spoke to a packed house, many of whom did in fact walk out—after he finished the speech, mostly because they wanted to be around him. Prime Minister Theresa May then spoke to a half empty room. Heh.

I suspect that a lot of the Davos crowd secretly admires Trump, even if they personally dislike him or his policies. And they may resent him at the same time, too. After all, he’s president and they’re not. Foreign politicians and business leaders alike can’t conceive of reaching the summit of politics in the manner Trump did. Deep down I think they know they can’t match Trump. Love him or hate him, Trump is the world’s rock star these days.* Pay no attention to what Davos Man says to reporters; they all want to be part of the Trump show.

But not to worry: the Davoisie is plenty resilient, and has many stages of denial, such as this from Time:

By week’s end, Donald Trump would be joining the gathering–a neat symbol of his ingestion by the globalist class. A year ago, this group had been mortified by Trump’s election and the rise of populism around the world. But the destabilizing President who once seemed like an existential threat now seems more like a harmless diversion. A year after Trump’s election raised the prospect of revolution, the elites have regained their confidence. The revolt had been put down, stock markets are up, and globalism is making a comeback.

Yeah—sure they’re not worried about Trump. More fake news. (Though I’m confused: isn’t this what the liberal establishment denounces as “normalizing” Trump?) I hope they keep going with this line.